A bear that wandered into downtown Nazareth caused quite the commotion Sunday.
The bear had climbed a tree on Broad Street between Belvidere and Walnut streets when the Nazareth Fire Department arrive to assist borough police with a crowd control call, according to a post on the fire company's Facebook page.
Authorities closed the area to residents for safety reasons and contacted the Pennsylvania Game Commission to tranquilize the bear and relocate it.
The 215-pound female bear was so high up in the tree, the fire department was asked to help catch the bear once it was tranquilized, the post says.
Firefighters set up a tarp below the tree in anticipation of the bear falling once the tranquilizer kicked in.
It took about 10 minutes for the bear to feel the effects and tumble out of the tree. She was caught in the tarp, but tried to run away. The bear only made it 10 feet before she laid down and passed out.
The game commission took the bear to relocate it to a less populated area.
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.